SouthCoast braces for nor'easter

An early winter storm is expected to slam into SouthCoast with wind gusts of up to 60 mph late today, potentially knocking down trees and causing power outages.

BRIAN BOYD

An early winter storm is expected to slam into SouthCoast with wind gusts of up to 60 mph late today, potentially knocking down trees and causing power outages.

A high wind watch is in effect for eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island from this evening through Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service is warning a nor'easter could dump as much as a foot of snow in parts of Massachusetts. While SouthCoast will likely avoid the snow, the storm will bring rain and high winds to the region, said Joe Dellicarpini, a meteorologist with the weather service in Taunton.

"That is enough to cause damage to trees and power lines, with the potential for power outages," he said.

The heavy winds will likely pound the area between 10 tonight and 4 a.m. Sunday, Dellicarpini said.

Locally, the forecast calls for 1 to 2 inches of rain tonight. But for the western and central parts of the state, the storm is predicted to bring an unusual amount of snow for this early.

"We're bracing for impact," said M.L. Baron, a West Island-based weather spotter and operator of Westislandweather.com. "We are going to be spared the bulk of the snow but this is a very serious situation."

Baron said 1 or 2 inches of snow for this area is not out of the question, but the main risk is near-hurricane-force winds.

"This means business," he said. "I've been looking at the data all day, and everything is there for this storm to slap us around."

The wind could knock down trees already weakened by Tropical Storm Irene, he said.

The storm could be a harbinger for a brutal winter. Baron said he expects this winter to be as bad or worse than last year.

On the plus side, while nor'easters tend to linger, this storm will likely move out of the area relatively quickly, he said. The center will travel to the east of Nantucket. The weather is expected to clear up in time for Halloween. The forecast calls for partly cloudy weather Monday night with a low temperature around 38.